The Paragraph
by SongbirdxSinger
Summary: Dean didn't expect to receive anything from Sam on this day, especially since he walked out on him. Weechesters. Dean 14. Sam 10.


Dean had set the two bowls of cereal on the small table. One for him and one for his brother. He sat down and started eating. He watched as his little brother got up from where he was seated by the window and ran over to the table. Dean observed in disgust as Sammy quickly ate his cereal; a few pieces falling onto the table with a couple of tiny droplets of milk surrounding his bowl. When his brother was done, he ran from the small table back to the chair he had set by the window and waited anxiously as he looked out.

Dean shrugged his shoulders and continued to eat his dinner. A second later he heard his brother's stomach growl from across the room. "You still hungry?" He asked in surprise. Sam denied and said he was full but his stomach told a different story. Dean picked up the cereal box and peeked inside. It was empty. He looked down at his full bowl of Lucky Charms. He had already taken two bites but decided that the rest was going to be for Sam. They had spent the last of the ten dollars their father had given them on food yesterday. They should have saved the chip bags for when they really needed to eat, but they were two developing boys with a growing appetite.

"I still have a chip bag left," Dean lied. "You can have my bowl." Dean got up and collected Sam's empty dish. As he finished washing the bowl, he asked Sam what he was doing.

"Waiting for Dad." Was Sam's reply.

Dean rolled his eyes for the hundredth time that day. "He's not coming." The fourteen-year-old stated as he wiped his hands on the washcloth.

"You don't know that." The ten-year-old protested.

"Yeah I do," Dean said as he turned around to face his little brother. "Dad called earlier today. He said he's going on a stakeout tonight. He'll be back tomorrow morning." Dean walked over to the bed he had to share with Sam and laid on his back as he picked up a random magazine from the nightstand.

"Why does he always do that?" Sam mumbled. "It's Father's Day." He looked out the window with hopeful eyes that maybe he would see his dad roll up in the parking lot of the motel they were staying at in his beloved Impala. Almost a minute went by and Sam couldn't wait anymore. He sighed loudly and walked over to plop down on the couch.

Dean stared at Sam from over the magazine. His heart ached for his brother. Another Father's Day that their Dad had let little Sammy down. "You know why," Dean stated after a moment of quietness. He didn't want to seem like he was justifying his father's behavior but Dean felt that his brother didn't fully appreciate what their father did. Sitting up in the bed, Dean tossed the magazine off to the side and said, "I'm sure Dad would want to be here, Sammy, but he's-"

"He's busy saving people," Sam mumbled as he finished his brother's sentence. He picked up the controller to the T.V. and started flipping through the channels they had access to. "I get it, Dean," Sam responded annoyed as he stopped on the channel that was airing a rerun of Scooby-Doo.

Dean thought it best to leave the conversation at that. Usually, he would tease Sam but he didn't want to be another person to upset his brother on this day. So the older boy reached across the bed and grabbed the magazine again to flip through it.

Sam huffed in anger. He turned around on the couch to look behind him to face his brother on the bed. "It's just that Dad promised he would be here with us on _this_ Father's Day when he missed Father's Day last year."

Dean nodded his head. He wasn't giving any attention to a single word Sam was going off about. He knew his brother just needed to vent, and personally, Dean didn't want to hear anything bad about his Dad. Since Dean was older, he believed he understood his father's actions more than Sam did. Sam didn't see all the sacrifices their father had to make, Dean thought. He was a child and therefore did not pay certain attention to all that adult stuff as Dean did.

"... that's why he always ditches us." Sam finished.

Dean snapped his head up. He wasn't entirely sure what Sam had said; he had missed the beginning of that nonsense statement, but he had to throw his two-cents in now. "_Ditches us_? What are you talking about, Sam?! Dad never ditches us! Or just abandons us! He takes us everywhere with him! If he always ditched us, then we would be in those homes for orphans, Sam!"

"Look around, Dean!" Sam replied as he raised his voice, "This is the seventh day that we're on our own! We might as well be orphans!"

"Don't say that!" Dean yelled loudly, "He's doing the best that he can! But you just don't get that, do you?"

Dean quickly got up from the bed. He hated when he argued with Sam because the little shit was good at arguing. Dean saw his brother's face get red. Sam was about to explode and this argument was about to turn into words that they might both regret saying later on. Deciding that he didn't want any part in it, Dean marched over to the door.

"Now you're gonna be like Dad and disappear?!" Sam challenged.

Dean wanted to turn around and comment back but he knew Sam would only be left hurt by what he would say. Dean stuck to storming out and made sure to slam the door extra hard.

Sam was such a whiney baby, Dean thought. Most of the time it was true. He complained about everything and always criticized their father but what Dean didn't understand was Sam's bipolar feelings towards their Dad. Some days Sam was understanding and on their Dad's side, but other days he could be protesting against their Dad on just about anything.

Dean wandered around the block and with just his luck it started to rain. It was already cold and dark out, and patches of ice had formed on the ground, but it wasn't enough to make Dean return back to the motel. He didn't want to go back. He hated it there with Sam and wished that he was with his Dad at the moment on the werewolf hunt.

That was the original plan. Sam was supposed to stay at Uncle Bobby's for the week but the older man had to leave a few towns over to take care of another case with a hunter named Rufus. John had called Pastor Jim to see if he could take in Sam but at the last minute, the pastor was needed on the case Uncle Bobby and Rufus were on. Caleb was out of state and John didn't have enough time to go back and forth. So that left John no choice but to make Dean stay and watch over Sam. He learned to trust his eldest son again to take care of the boy. It had been almost four years since the incident with that horrid creature but John didn't blame Dean for what almost happened. He was around ten at the time and still young himself to fully understand the importance of taking care of Sammy.

Dean wrapped his arms around his body. He was starting to freeze. Looking both ways, Dean stepped out onto the street and seconds later found himself laying on the concrete. He had slipped on a patch of ice.

Sitting up, Dean placed his right hand over his now cut lips. Something had hit him on his mouth and chipped his tooth a little. At first, he didn't know what could have done that until he was getting up off the floor and felt the culprit hanging around his neck.

The heavy amulet Sam gave him for Christmas almost two years ago. Dean hadn't taken it off since the day he got it. The amulet was a strange gift that Uncle Bobby helped Sam get. It was originally supposed to be a Christmas gift from Sam to John, but as usual, John was a no show.

Dean stared down at the amulet that rested against his chest. He wrapped his hand around it and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he turned the other way to return to the motel. He tried to convince himself that he was only returning because it got too cold and not because of the memory that flashed in his mind of a six-year-old Sammy being fed on by a shtriga because Dean wasn't there to protect him.

He started walking faster but stopped in his tracks when he was passing a food market. Remembering that Sam was still hungry (Dean guessed he shouldn't have been that surprised by Sam being hungry because they did skip out on lunch) and he himself hadn't eaten anything, Dean entered the store. He was a natural pro at this. He slipped the bread and peanut butter under his jacket and stuffed some candy bars into his pockets. He then walked around to the back of the store and slipped out the back entrance. He had to break out into a mad dash when one of the employees, who was taking out the trash, spotted him. One of these days Dean knew he was going to get caught but luckily it wasn't today.

**_...*...*...*..._**

Sam decided to check out the window one last time, despite his brother telling him their father wouldn't be coming home tonight. He prepared himself to be greeted with the sight of the Impala rolling in when he looked out, but instead saw Dean running towards their room. Sam immediately made his way over to unlock the door.

Dean ran inside and had shut the door behind him. He bent over for a quick second to catch his breath before making his way over to the table. He noticed Sam had finished his bowl of cereal. It was a good call that Dean made the trip to literally snatch the food he did.

"I thought you used the last of the money yesterday?" Sam questioned as he eyed the bread, peanut butter jar, and candy bars Dean was currently emptying out of his pockets.

"Turned out I had a few bucks left," Dean answered. He opened the bread and untwisted the cap to the peanut butter. "Now give me a spoon, will ya?"

Sam reluctantly made his way to the drawer and pulled out a silver spoon. He walked back and handed it to Dean. He studied his brother's face, noticing his cut lip, and wondered if Dean had gotten into some sort of fight. He knew if he asked about the injury Dean wasn't going to tell him the truth on how he got it, but still, Sam asked.

"What happened to your lip?"

"Slipped on some ice and got hit by the amulet," Dean answered nonchalantly.

Sam figured that was the lie but decided to drop it. He looked down at the sandwiches Dean was making for them. He knew Dean did a lot for him and it was about time for Sam to start acknowledging that.

"I'm sorry," Sam said out of the blue. It was barely a whisper, Dean wasn't sure if Sam had said anything at all until he continued to speak. "I know I give you a lot of attitude for always doing what Dad says, but I know why you do it."

Dean froze on the spot. He was wondering if Sam remembered what happened four years ago when the shtriga entered his room. "Oh?" He questioned.

Sam nodded his head. "I thought about it and you're right."

"Of course I'm right," Dean cut in, "I'm the oldest." Sam rolled his eyes but nonetheless smiled up at his older brother. "What am I right about?"

"About Dad. He does care about us and our safety, but... Sitting here alone and thinking to myself, I realized that I missed a huge opportunity."

"With what?" Dean watched on in confusion as Sam backed away over to the couch. When he came walking back he was holding a folded piece of paper.

"This is for you." That was all Sam explained as he handed the paper over to Dean. In exchange, Dean passed the sandwiches he made over to Sam. Sam nervously took a bite of the sandwich as he studied his brother's reaction.

Dean looked down at the homemade card in his hands in even more confusion. The outside of the card read "Happy Father's Day" in Sam's handwriting. Dean opened the card and on the right side had read:

_Happy Father's Day Dad!_

_I hope today will be a good one and I can't wait to go out on my first official hunt with you and Dean._

_Your son,_

_Sam_

That part was crossed out with a big "X". Dean directed his attention to the left side where Sam's handwriting had read:

_Dean,_

_Thank you for always being here for me when I need someone; for keeping me on track with school work; for telling me the truth about the supernatural; for training me on how to take care of myself; for doing so much for me. I realized I don't say this enough to you but I'm grateful for all that you do. I know it must be tough taking care of both of us, so I'll try to help you out more. I promise I'll be better and try not to pick fights with you. You're the best big brother anyone could ask for and I'm lucky I got you. Even though you're not Dad or a father, I still want to give you this card because I think you deserve to be acknowledged on this day too for all the sacrifices I see you do for me. You don't have to do it but you still do anyway. Happy Father's Day Jerk._

_-Sa__m not Sammy_

Dean clenched his jaw as he cleared his throat. "Thanks for the card, bitch." He playfully said.

Sam's nerves went away. He smiled again at his brother as he gave him a quick hug before grabbing his plate and situating himself in front of the T.V.

Dean set the card down on the table and started to make his own sandwiches. He couldn't help his eyes wandering over to the card and he couldn't help but think he got a long paragraph while Sammy barely wrote three sentences for their Dad.

_I deserve it._ Dean thought to himself as he poured two glasses of milk. Sam might think for the rest of his life that Dean will forever praise their father, but in reality, Dean loathed the man. John Winchester was nothing but a depressed and occasionally drunk bastard who was obsessed with finding out what supernatural being murdered his wife. Dean despised John. He piled all his responsibilities onto Dean before he was five years old. He had to become a father to Sam because John wasn't. But he wasn't going to outright rebel. Not yet. He still needed to take care of Sammy and in order to do that, he needed money and shelter from his father.

Picking up his plate in one hand and carefully holding the two cups in the other, Dean took one last glance at the card. A soft smile appeared on his face. The movement brought him slight pain from his cut lip, but he barely even felt it. Dean was too overjoyed to feel any pain right now. _Yeah_, Dean thought as he walked over to join Sammy on the couch, _I deserved the paragraph._

* * *

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE: Happy Father's Day to those who are a father or are a father figure in someones life! Hope you all like this story! I wrote this last year but never posted it. Please leave a review or send me a PM to tell me your thoughts! I am debating whether or not to add more chapters or leave this as a one-shot. _**


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